Friday, August 1, 2014

Were Rachel and Leah half-sisters?

Diagram of Genesis 11:16-27

Alice C. Linsley

Analysis of the Genesis king lists reveals that the Horite ruler-priest lines intermarried according to a distinctive marriage and ascendancy pattern. This is the case for the lines of Cain and Seth, the lines of Ham and Shem, and the lines of Nahor and Abraham.

In the diagram above there is at least a 4 generation gap between Dedan and Abraham that can be reconstructed when we take into consideration that Abraham's cousin wife, Keturah, was the daughter of a Horite ruler named Joktan. This is confirmed by the fact that she named her first born son Joktan, after her father (the cousin bride's naming prerogative). Keturah represents the Arabian Horites. Sarah, Abraham's half-sister wife, came with him to Canaan from Harran. She represents the Aramean Horites. Jacob's two wives appear to follow the pattern of Abraham's two wives, suggesting that they were not sisters.

Rachel and Leah represent two lines that share a common Horite ancestry: the Aramean and the Dedanite (Arabian) lines. Rachel's son's name, Benjamin, suggests that she is of the Dedanite line. Ben-jamin means "son of the south" (or "son of the right hand" as one faced the rising sun). The name of Leah's first born son is derived from the name Reu, one of the founders of the Aramean kingdom (Gen. 11:16-27).

Leah was the mother of six sons and at least one daughter. Her first born son was Reuben. Genesis identifies her as Rachel's "sister" and yet her name and the name of her first born son suggest that her lineage was not the same as Rachel's. The term "sisters" may mean that they were of the same Horite caste, or if their father had two wives, Rachel and Leah would have been half-sisters.

It is often repeated that "Rachel" means female sheep (ewe) in Hebrew. However, the Hebrew word for ewe is kivsah and sometimestalia (the "Even-Shoshan" dictionary). Instead the name Rachel/Rahel is derived from Ra-heli. This is evident in the spelling of the name in other languages: Ráhel (Magyar/Hungarian); Raheli (Swahili); Rahil (Arabic). Ra-hel is likely a reference to the Horite name for the Creator - Ra.

The name Heli appears in the ancestry of Jesus Christ. These names are found in the lineage of Joseph: Melchi, Levi, Matthat, and Heli. Matthat and Heli are names pertaining to the Horite ruler-priest caste. The royal hat is found in the names of Egyptian rulers such as Amen-em-hat, Hat-shep-sut, Merytre-Hat-shep-sut and in the name of one of Isreal’s great rulers, Yeho-shep-hat/Jehoshephat (Matt. 1:8). One of Yehoshephat’s sons was Shep-hat/Shephatiah (II Chron. 21:2).

Leah's Edomite Ancestry

There is speculation that the name Leah is related to the Hebrew le'd, meaning "cow." However, it is more likely that the name is linked to the "Letushim" and "Leummim" who are descendants of Dedan, the son of Joktan (diagram above). Dedan is associated with Uz in the hill country of Edom. Uz was the homeland of Job. One of Job's inquisitors, Elihu, was a descendent of Nahor by Buz. Buz and Uz were Nahor's sons by Milcah (Gen. 22:20). Uz the Elder's grandson (by his daughter) was Uz the son of Dishan (I Chron. 1:42). Uz the Younger was Seir's grandson. Here is Seir's Horite family:

When there are two names that are very close, there is usually a third. The third is Huz, so that Uz, Buz and Huz represent another 3 clan confederation. I Chronicles 5:14 mentions that the son of Buz was Jahdo and Jahdo's son was Yeshishai, the Aramaic form of Yeshua/Jesus. This connects the name of Jesus with the devotees of Horus who are called "Horites."

Buz is related to Uz and is grouped with the peoples of Dedan and Tema in Jeremiah 25. This is probably why this Horite confederation is not identified as Uz, Huz and Buz, but rather as Dedan, Tema and Buz. The oldest Arabic script emanated from the Afro-Arabian oases of Tema and Dedan in the Hijaz.

Did Isaac follow the marriage pattern of is ancestors?

It is likely that Isaac also had two wives, following the pattern of the Horite rulers. Rebecca would have been his second wife, taken shortly before he ascended to the throne of his father. Isaac's first wife would have been a half-sister living in the area of Beersheba, where Keturah resided. Isaac's second marriage took place in Beersheba because as the heir to Abraham's territory, Isaac was not permitted to leave his territory. Note the contrast between Isaac’s admonition to Jacob to leave and not marry a local girl (Genesis 28:1-4) and Abraham’s admonition to his servant never to take Isaac from his territory, but instead to fetch a wife for him from his own Horite people in Padan-Aram (Genesis 24:4-8).

Jews call their ancestors "Horim" which is Horite in English. The myth of Horus speaks of his miraculous conception by the divine overshadowing of his mother Hathor. You will recall that the Gabriel explained to Mary that she would conceive the Son of God by "overshadowing." Hathor's totem was a cow and she was shown at Nile shrines holding her infant in a manger. The expectation of the Seed of God being born as a human and dying and rising predates Judaism. In Jesus' time, Judaism had strayed far from the faith of Abraham and his Horite ancestors. Only the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the body.

Horus was the son of Ra, the Creator. Horite belief in a deified son who unites the peoples was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, a descendant of the Horite ruler-priests, the son of the Virgin Mary, daughter of the shepherd-priest Joachim of the line of Nathan. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham’s Horite ancestors in Eden (Gen. 3:15). This is why Frank Moore Cross cannot avoid the conclusion that the God of Israel is the God of the Horites.

The Horite rulers were regarded as deified “sons” of God. They are often called “gods” (elohiym) as in Exodus 22:28: “Thou shalt not revile the gods (elohiym), nor curse the ruler of thy people.” They served in the temple on a rotating schedule and purified themselves before the time of service. It is from the Horite priesthood that the priesthood of Israel developed. Moses’ brothers Korah and Aaron were Horite priests before the nation of Israel existed. This is confirmed by the distinctive Horite marriage and ascendancy pattern of Moses’ father.

The Horites worshiped the supreme Creator when other peoples were worshiping lesser deities. They anticipated the coming of the Seed of God (Gen. 3:15) and believed that He would be born of their royal-priest bloodlines. That is why their lines intermarried exclusively and why unchaste daughters of priests were burned alive (Lev. 21:9). Sexual impurity was not tolerated.

Solar imagery for the Lord is common in both Horite and Biblical texts. Horus is described as “The Good God, Golden [Horus], Shining in the chariot, like the rising of the sun; great in strength, strong in might…” (Tablet of Victory of Amenhotep III, J.H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, Part Two, p. 854). Psalm 92:2 describes the Lord as “a sun and a shield.”

Messianic passages of the Bible have parallels in ancient Horite texts. Consider how Horus, the archetype of Christ, describes himself in the Coffin texts (passage 148):

“I am Horus, the great Falcon upon the ramparts of the house of him of the hidden name. My flight has reached the horizon. I have passed by the gods of Nut. I have gone further than the gods of old. Even the most ancient bird could not equal my very first flight. I have removed my place beyond the powers of Set, the foe of my father Osiris. No other god could do what I have done. I have brought the ways of eternity to the twilight of the morning. I am unique in my flight. My wrath will be turned against the enemy of my father Osiris and I will put him beneath my feet in my name of ‘Red Cloak’.” (Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt by R.T. Rundle Clark, p. 216)

Note the similarity to Psalm 110:1, a messianic reference: The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

I conclude from the data that Jesus Christ's coming was anticipated by His Horite ancestors. His dying was expected, and His resurrection was regarded as the ultimate proof of his Divine Sonship. I take by faith that He came to save repentant sinners, such as myself.

Today there is adequate information available to gain a clearer picture of the pre-Abrahamic origins of the Messianic faith. It is not sufficient in this age of empiricism and skepticism to say that the Biblical record is true. People want to see that it is verified by the evidence in the sciences. That is why my research is valuable.

Alice, your article on the "other wife" you speculate Isaac had states that "Esau, the younger" would have been Jacob's half-brother and the son of Isaac's first wife, yet this is refuted by Genesis 24:21-26. What is your explanation for this discrepancy?

You are saying that we are able to get a clue about divergent lineages from Rachel's name as well as the names that she and Leah gave their first born sons. What about Rachel's first born son, Joseph? If this theory is correct, wouldn't the conventional naming prerogatives and all suggest that he should have been given a name that hearkens back to Rachel's father, or some other ancestor of Rachel's in the Dedanite (Arabian) line?

Jonathan, Yoseph is a name that indicates an appointed ruler. Note the initial Y solar cradle. We do not know that he was Yacob's proper heir because the Biblical text does not tell us which of Yacob's wives was his half-sister. Please see these posts: http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2013/04/abrahams-complaint.html

Alice, it doesn't refute that Isaac had another wife, but taking the Genesis text as it is written, it teaches that Esau and Jacob were twin sons of Rachel. If I am understanding both your article and the Scripture correctly, you speculate Esau ("the younger") was the son of Isaac's first wife, while the Scripture teaches Esau was Jacob's twin brother and that both were born of Rachel. I'm curious as to how your theories account for this.

In Genesis 25:20 Rebecca is identified as the daughter of Bethuel, an Aramaean Horite ruler. She is Isaac's cousin bride, not his first wife. Among the Horite ruler caste, the first wife was a half-sister. Isaac's first wife would have been Abraham's daughter by his cousin wife Keturah (of Beersheba). The Horites of the Arabian Peninsula and the Horites of the Tigris-Euphrates have common ancestors, but at this point they are beginning to emerge as two distinct groups. Jacob, "the younger" did indeed serve Esau, the older who was established as a ruler in Edom. The Edomites had a reddish skin tone.

Genesis 25:22-26: The children struggled together within her. She said, “If it be so, why do I live?” She went to inquire of Yahweh.

Yahweh said to her, “Two nations are in your womb. Two peoples will be separated from your body. The one people will be stronger than the other people. The elder will serve the younger.”

When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

The first came out red all over, like a hairy garment. They named him Esau.

After that, his brother came out, and his hand had hold on Esau’s heel. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

Thank you, Alice, but this has not fully answered my question. Do you regard the account in Genesis 25 of both Esau and Jacob coming "from the womb" of Rebecca as symbolic rather than literal, since you maintain Esau must have been the son of Isaac's half-sister wife? Or are you saying there were two Esaus, the younger Esau being the son of Rebecca as the Scripture here seems to teach?

As you can see from the diagram above of the kinship of Seir the Horite ruler of Edom, there are 2 named Esau. Esau the younger is the one identified as the husband of Oholibamah and Jacob's half-brother.

The data suggests that Rebecca is the eponymous "mother" of both clans, Esau's and Jacob's. This is not uncommon in Genesis, seeing that the material was brought together long after the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and not all the wives were remembered.

That question is like asking "Is Jesus one of God's names?" Jesus or Yeshua means salvation. Is that one of God's names? No, but God is the author and only ground of salvation. HR or Horus likewise speaks of God and God's incarnate son.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YuyaYuya may have been Joseph/Yusof, he was grandfather of Akhenaton (the only monotheistic Pharaoh), and great grandfather of King Tut; mummified his hands were placed under his chin rather than over his chest like Egyptians ... very convincing to me